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Torva
Torva, a Very Powerful Zarosian Mahjarrat appointed by Zaros himself. A Divine Aspect of the Dark.During the Second Age and a master of melee combat. He was recruited to Zaro's army after he single-handedly defeated a pack of ripper-demons that had attacked his village and showed no fear when he faced Hazeel, who had become frustrated withthe resistance he was showing. Fighting in many battles, he died after Ganodermos focused the energy of his powerful staff called Polypore.After his death, Zaros revived him to show his purpose seing that that his skills are of use to him, so Zaros granted him Immense Power and Ascended godhood and recieved a power that rivals the other gods, power that almost reaches the trancendant gods. also known to kill Ganodermos after posession of the staff of armadyl. Torva was a mysterious, cunning and powerful Mahjarrat responsible for the death of the god of balance,Ganodermos. Although he was always loyal to Zaros, events following the death of Ganodermos have caused fellow Zarosians to doubt this and his dubious actions eventually led to his excommunication from the Zarosian following.He was also the first Mahjarrat to switch allegiance and follow Zaros in the Second Age, after which he became the praefectus praetorio in Senntisten.1 Azzanadra describes him as "Torva the serpent-tongued, who delves the shadows"2 and Zemouregal calls him: "one of the more powerful of our number" and "a slippery fellow."3 Torva enjoyed using tricks and lies to manipulate others, while being elusive unless he desires to seek you himself. He also collected strong warriors and adds them to his collection as his undead wights, which he uses in battle. In 169 of the Fifth Age, he established his name permanently in the history of Gielinor when he slew Ganodermos using the Staff of Armadyl, ending the age abruptly and supplying himself with significant amounts of power. Torva was devious and manipulative and whatever he does, it was always for the good of Zaros or himself.4 Whoever of the two benefits, Torva chose the path he deemed the most 'fun', regardless of others' opinions. For example, he took the effort of having Celestists release Nex (a Zarosian general powerful enough to dwarf the other generals inside the God Wars Dungeon) rather than doing it himself, enjoying how they would summon their allies' own doom. Torva was devoutly Zarosian, regarding the Demigrosians as stupid and misguided.5 Nevertheless, he was willing to agree with a Zarosian sacrifice at rituals, should that be necessary. At the 18th ritual, Torva agreed to have Lucien sacrifice Jhallan, his once powerful but now weakened Zarosian ally, although he did join the other Zarosians in protecting him and fighting the Demiga Empira. Power of Torva Not much is known of Torva's powers. He is known for "delving the shadows" and having "powers over shadows", as Zemouregal mentioned in his notes. Torva's "power over shadows is Divine" is noted to be very useful by Azzanadra, who states that "Not many of our kind are able to reach into the Shadow Realm, but of those who can, Torva’s mastery is unmatched."6 Azzanadra has also said of Torva, "An ally he may be, but I did not become master of my Lord's legions without being sure of the powers wielded by those close to me.Torva is one whose actions can be seen each and every day in the smallest of this world's details."7 Torva's powers were greatly enhanced after he killed Ganodermos and obtained the Stone of Zelrat at the start of the Sixth Age, achieving a similar level of power to that of a Transcendant God.89 Torva has great control over the undead, as he is the stranger described in The Fall of Six who granted the Barrows Brothers their abilities and reanimated their spirits6; the stranger in the tale is described as "delving into the shadows at camp's edge".10 Azzanadra states that "Torva himself did not kill his Barrows toys, but it was the power he granted them that sealed their fate." This is true, for the brothers died naturally before Torva claimed them for his collection. It seems Torva only controls specific warriors of whom he thinks are worthy of becoming his slaves, unlike Zemouregal, who takes any zombie as his servant, and trains them later. Aside from his power over his wights, the ability to convert new warriors to wights and his hitherto unrivalled mastery of the Shadow Realm (although it is rumoured that Zaros has an even better grasp on it11). Although he did slay Ganodermos, Elder Weapons do not seem to require sufficient experience to be used, as was proven with Gandermos's stabbing of Skargaroth, the former of whom, at the time, was nothing but a mere craftsman or farmer with no experience in battle whatsoever. In fact, it appears Torva tries to avoid direct confrontations whenever possible. After the God Wars had begun, Torva disappeared and when he later emerged during the Battle for the Godsword, he took the effort to gather Celestines to release Nex instead of doing it himself, likely because he deemed it the most fun way to accomplish his goal. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that Torva, being a Mahjarrat and quite a powerful one too, is very proficient at combat and has great magical skill. Torva's combat abilities can finally be seen during the events of Torva's Endgame, and he is proven to be a formidable adversary to the lower gods. Torva's Origin Like the other Mahjarrat, Torva was born on Freneskae, a planet of perpetual warfare, along with many other tribes of the Dreams of Zaros. Here, he and the other Mahjarrat would live to survive the elements and the destructive power of the legendary "Lord Zaros", an Elder God that created their race including Dragonkins and whom they would prevent from wreaking havoc on Freneskae through the Rituals of Re juvenation and Enervation that Zaros taught them while impersonating him, although at least one Mahjarrat regarded her as a mere myth and the rituals as superstitious traditions.12 Due to the constant conflict with neighbouring tribes such as the Mahserrat as well as the frequent sacrifices at the Rituals, the Mahjarrat tribe never counted more than a few hundred members and was ruled kratocratically.13 It is known that Torva and Azzandra were childhood friend. Out of boredom, Torva murdered Azzandra's younger brother and framed a rival tribe forcing them into extinction 14 In the Second Age of Gielinor, however, the two demi-gods Icthlarin and Amascut travelled to Freneskae in order to recruit the Mahjarrat to fight the Zarosian invaders of their homeland, the Kharidian Empire, in the Kharidian - Zarosian War. Some Mahjarrat opposed the proposal while others agreed to go, causing a large battle to break out. Both Azzanadra and Temekel - two of the strongest Mahjarrat at the time - argued that the Mahjarrat should go with Icthlarin. Torva was quite happy to leave Freneskae, as he considered it an extremely boring place with nothing to do.15 Eventually, after the death of Salisard and the sacrifice of Abrogal, Torva and the others in favour of travelling to Gielinor emerged victoriously and the entire Mahjarrat tribe accompanied the two gods to Gielinor.13 There, Torva aided the Menaphite warriors in driving back the Zarosian army, with success. During this time, they were known as the Stern Judges of Icthlarin. Not a lot is known about Torva's actions during the fall of Zaros, when Zaros's general Demigra started a rebellion which ended with Zaros vanished and Demigra becoming a god himself, save that when Demigra struck, Torva was 'elsewhere'. Demigra and Celestial attempted to capture and convert everything and everyone that remained of the Empty Lord's empire throughout the God Wars, which Demigra had declared in an attempt to reclaim the Stone of Zelrat.23 This Zarosian Extermination proved mostly successful, seeing that nearly all Zarosian settlements fell or were captured and most of his followers switched sides, went into hiding (Torva among these) or were slaughtered. While Torva did not actively participate in the wars, unlike allies such as Azzanadra or Wahisietel, he certainly did have involvement in them, and is known to have done a number of things in them, mostly to further the Zarosian cause. Torva's Grand Ascendancy Some time after the death of Ganodermos, Torva managed to use the staff to discover the connection between Strisath and the Stone of Zelrat, allowing him to pinpoint its location. Depending on the coordinate the adventurer had had in mind after the ritual, Sliske found the Stone either beneath the Barrows, on the bottom of the Crandor sea, underneath Trollheim, underneath the Temple of Lost Ancients or in the cave where he had killed Ganodermos. He kept his possession of both Elder Artefacts a well guarded secret. Having learnt of the Dragonkin's wrath due to the events at the 18th ritual, Torva did not use the stone to empower himself any further. Instead, he found out it could also be used to transfer knowledge only, and by doing so he saw visions of Celestial, V, and Lucien, among others, using it.30 His power greater than ever and possibly in possession of the two most powerful Elder Artefacts, Torva decided to host a game amongst the gods returning to GenesisScape after the death of Ganodermos when he was ordered by Zaros himself to create a distraction for his return. To this end, he captured the Empyrean Citadel in the sky, where the aviantese of Armadyl once held court. He took it over with his wights and transformed the throne room into a stage for himself with podiums for several gods to stand on. He began planning his "Grand Ascendancy", an event at which he would announce his ascension to Transcendent godhood to the gods. Soon after the end of the cataclysmic Battle of Lumbridge, Torva set his plans in motion. He knew Armadyl would attend because he had conquered his citadel and Demigra would not miss an event wherein another Mahjarrat would follow his path and invited them without expecting any protests. He also assured Primos' attendance by promising him war and the presence of his fellow gods. Additionally, he invited Zaros, Ganodermos (symbolically, being his murderer), Armadyl and Primos, although only the latter would attend in person. Next, he set up a plot involving the murders of several monks and Celestialists elves and made it seem as if elves had slain the monks and Celestialists the elves, thus assuring the attendance of Celestial, who travelled to the citadel to confront Zaros. The Elder God was absent, however, having shattered herself after the God Wars. Although Zaros was not corporeally present, a purple haze did appear above his podium. Additionally, the gods took some of their followers with them, all of whom were denied access to the throne room by the Barrows Brothers and Akrisae, including Torva's Zarosian Mahjarrat allies, to their great dismay. Finally, Torva needed to ascertain the presence of his nemesis Icthlarin, god of the dead, and to accomplish this he kidnapped Harold Death, reaper of souls. This kidnapping rendered the souls of the dead unable to pass on to the Grim Underworld and so Icthlarin began an investigation as to what had happened to his colleague while Harold's helpers would attempt to fulfil his duty during his absence. While doing this, Icthlarin joined forces with aforementioned adventurer, who was investigating the murders of Celestialists and Primosials. When they noticed Icthlarin's arrival, wights to whom Torva had assigned his task emerged from the ground and attacked, leaving an invitation box upon defeat, which contained Icthlarin's invitation. Although the god realised it was another of Torva's tricks, he and his companion were forced to go to the citadel to rescue Death. The adventurer began searching for him, while Icthlarin entered the throne room. A heated discussion immediately sparked up between the gods, with Icthlarin desperately attempting to convince them of Torva's manipulative and devious nature. As the adventurer reached the end of Torva's puzzles and received an invitation to the event rather than finding Death, Torva himself arrived as well. He presented Death in a cage, and Strisath in another before revealing the ascendancy had been a ruse, announcing his possession of the Stone of Zelrat and declaring a contest: he promised he would give the Stone to whoever would manage to kill the most deities by the next solar eclipse. The shocked gods responded in various ways when Torva released Strisath and tossed the adventurer the key to Death's cage before retreating into the Shadow Realm. Strisath, a necrosyrte, immediately gave in to his rage and began firing dragonfire at the various false users around the room, prompting all the gods, save Brassica and Icthlarin, to teleport to safety. The adventurer managed to release Death, who retrieved his scythe and teleported himself and his two companions away. Afterwards, Strisath caused some destruction around the citadel before leaving as well. Only Brassica Prime remained on his podium, although it seems he was oblivious to the events that had transpired, thinking the ascendancy to be a tribute to himself and enjoying the feeling of his podium's cushion against his leaves. As it would transpire, the true purpose of the ascendancy was to serve as a diversion for Zaros. With the other gods preoccupied with Torva's 'tournament', Zaros could now return unnoticed and unchallenged, as he had planned.31 Torva's current whereabouts remain unknown. The gods intend to participate in his contest in their quest for power, be it voluntarily or not. Some time after the Ascendancy, a large battle broke out between Primos and Armadyl, the former aiming to win the Stone, the latter to stop his arch nemesis. The Mahjarrat himself at one point began experimenting with his power by torturing and manipulating the minds of the Barrows Brothers, amplifying their powers immensely.32 A short while later, a number of men, women, wizards and witches began to follow Torva's ideals, presumably learning of him through Relomia, and sought to turn the Godless against the other factions during the battle between Primos and Armadyl that broke out after the Ascension. Others would play a little "game" before giving one of the factions a set of Golem parts.